BY MAURICE NUNEZ | Go Venue Magazine
Tonight Go Venue was on hand to cover The King at the Grove of Anaheim in Anaheim, California. King Diamond, known for his powerful and extensive vocal range, brought his Danish heavy metal to Southern California. He is noted for his distinctive and charismatic stage persona which has been very influential in the shock rock scene.
Most recently the master of conceptual metal horror released a new single, “Masquerade of Madness.” This was his first single in 12 years. This will be on next year’s release of The Institute. The album is due out next year and is set in a 1920s asylum, and its tale will be spread across two full-length albums. Not only this but King Diamond plans to reunite with his previous band Mercyful Fate in 2020 for an undisclosed amount of shows. A lot to look forward to next year for King Diamond fans!
The openers, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats took the stage as we arrived. They hale from England and have developed a loyal following over the years. Known as having a doom/psychedelic sound to them, they immediately got the crowd rocking with “I’ll Cut You Down.” They went on to play other fan favorites like “Death’s Door,” “Mind Crawler,” “Ritual Knife,” and “13 Candles.” They turned out to be a perfect opener on this tour. Look forward to the next time they come to town.
Next it was time for King Diamond. The entire venue was packed with devoted King Diamond followers. There even some in the audience that mimicked his black and white face-paint as a tribute to their King. Anaheim was eagerly awaiting the band to hit the stage when all of a sudden a sleeping King Diamond appears out of a smoking door in a hospital chair connected to an IV drip bag. The King suddenly awakens as he slowly stands up to grab what looks like a set of human bones which turned out to be part of his microphone setup.
They started their set with “The Candle” then went right into other King favorites like “Behind These Walls,” “Voodoo,” “Halloween,” and “Sleepless Night.” They also played their latest single “Masquerade of Madness” which got an excellent response from the crowd. This will appear on their upcoming album due out next year.
King Diamond is quite the showman and used his entire stage setup to tell his story. The fans couldn’t get enough from their dark master, but all good things eventually come to an end. The set concluded with “Burn” and “Black Horsemen.” Now that was a show, hail to the King!
Thanks to King Diamond for bringing this tour to Anaheim, CA as we look forward to his return. See photos and set-list from tonight’s show below…
The Candle | Behind These Walls | Arrival | A Mansion in Darkness | Voodoo | Halloween | Masquerade of Madness | Welcome Home | The Invisible Guests | Sleepless Nights | The Lake | Burn | Black Horsemen
King Diamond
Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats
All images © Maurice Nunez
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